Free verse is my personal favorite form of poetry. It allows me to write most anything and call it poetry. Nothing feels forced and the words can speak merely for themselves.
If you ever take a college course in creative writing, the Professor will most likely teach the class free verse poetry first. It helps writers depend more on their words and less on the gimmick of some rhymes or form.
Definition: Free Verse is a form of Poetry composed of either rhymed or unrhymed lines that have no set fixed metrical pattern. The early 20th-century poets were the first to write what they called "free verse" which allowed them to break from the formula and rigidity of traditional poetry.
*****Examples*****
This is not the first poem of mine that has been published, but it is the one that I am most proud of!
Who Will Be There
By: AubrieAnne (2007)
What cruel wind tears us apart?
When hands can no longer be used as canes,
We are sure to fall.
Not on stones, but on layers of separation.
And who's to care when we’re alone?
And when the wind bellows,
False whispers in its wake,
Who will be there to comfort us?
Like I mentioned before, free verse is limitless. That means that you can even add a picture to go along with your poetry!
Would You Dance with Me?
By: AubrieAnne (2009)
Would you dance with me?
If I asked you to?
Like the way we did before?
You’d move for me
And I’d meld with you
Our bodies becoming one
Would you dance with me?
In the cobbled streets?
With others watching on?
You’d lead the way
And I’d follow you
Two dancers moving as one
Would you dance with me?
Under a full moon’s light?
With no one else around?
You’d find a beat
And I’d strum along
Our feet gliding as one
Would you dance with me?
Like lovers do?
Not wanting it to end?
You’d hold me close
And I’d want you to
Two people dancing as one
Would you dance with me?
At this very moment?
Before the music ends?
You’d stop time
And I’d let you
Our lips meeting the other one
*****Questions*****
What do you like the most about free verse poetry, if anything?
What do you dislike the most about free verse poetry, if anything?
Please share any of your free verse poetry!
What form of poetry do you write the most?
If you don’t write poetry, what form of poetry do you read the most?
I've been so busy. Poor show not getting back into this yesterday, but I was struggling over my new shop. But I'm back today so I'll fire over and make a relevant post. I have loads of free verse poems to choose from so it won't take long, then were out to cinema. Love the cinema. ;) hope you've had a smashing time? Your description of Christmas eve was tip top - soooo festive and well, comforting. ;)x And I must say that these poems here are beautiful This type really suits you Aubrie.
ReplyDeleteI'll leave one poem here, then get to my own site and leave some there. This one is called Bereft and was written after my brother died.
BEREFT...
Day into night – I pray for a liberator
Dreaded ache... sore orbs closed tight
Hours pass, exhaustion and a daytime death;
A dream – An enabler -
Where I skip over the sun
And meet fairies on clouds
Ride wild horses on misty
Mountains – Bare back
Kiss cupid and hoot
Out-loud.
Walk in blood red and yellow gowns
Of silk and lace –
Paint, liberally
Over the ruinous
Pain in my face.
Smile confidently once more,
At striking faces
On luminous lanes
As they pass by – unknowing.
Denial – within my dreams;
Sacred sanctuary, which shrinks
Whilst a rude
Awakening begins
In heavy lids, and a brand new day
Of purest sorrow
Sore orbs unwrap to salute, Pain.
And weep for yesterday and tomorrow.
Shah Wharton (c)2004
So does that poem signify that you like to dance, Aubrie?
ReplyDeleteShah...Awesome! Yes, I have a wonderful Christmas time, especially Christmas Eve. I got sick on Christmas day, but I pulled through and now I am fine. I think I'm going to the movies today too!!! I might be seeing Harry Potter 7 for the second time. lol. A bunch of friends are going.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this poem. You can tell all the running emotions that are in play after you lost you brother (so sorry about that.) I especially ejoyed the enjambed lines towards the end of the first stanza. It just moved really well there.
I'll head over to look at your other poems later tonight :)
Matt...No, I don't dance. Like ever. lol. I wish I could dance like the couple in the picture though.
AA: One thing that does drive me crazy is that students often think that anything they write is poetry if they call it free verse. One cannot seriously write:
ReplyDelete"The higher it flies, the much"
and expect us to consider it poetry. That said, I ask you this. Do you realize how your wonderful poem, Who Will Be There, is riddled with poetic elements, despite being free verse?
JJ...I completely agree and I understand how you would feel that way as a teacher. Everyone has to start somewhere though. I remember the exact moment when I decided to write poetry. I was so young and that day I wrote at least 12 poems. I look back at them now and notice when I was getting is and when I was so not getting it.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, I do believe that MOST anything can be argued as free verse poetry, especially if you know what you are talking about. I also believe many people are naturals and don't even realize the magnitude of what they have done. There is such a fine line! But, yes, I do read "poems" labelled as free verse like your "The higher it flies, the much" and think, "What?" lol.
Yes, I do realize the poetic elements in Who Will Be There and I'm especially proud of that poem. I wrote it right when I was taking classes in poetry and finally learning what it is that I was doing all these years blindly. I started dreaming about poetry and woke up in the middle of the night to write Who Will Be There. It was pure inspiration and thank you for calling it wonderful.
And thank you for the discussion. It's an excellent point. One of my hopes for this poetry week, is that it has brought some awareness to writing poetry.
I don't dance, either. I'd like to some time, but I'm afraid my nerves would stop me.
ReplyDeleteSkye...Welcome and thanks for following. Please feel free to join in the discussions and comment on the posts. I will certainly come and check out your blog. I don't really use facebook though.
ReplyDeleteMatt...I know how that feels at times. I guess it depends on the dance for me though. At a club= no way! At a wedding= awesome, I'm there! In a play= count me in! At a dance= not all that into it. But since I don't do plays anymore and the last wedding I went to was two years ago that means no dancing. lol
I wanted to be in a play when I was younger. My 5th/6th-grade teacher put on Shakespeare plays with his students. I never made the cut. The guy was unsavory, anyway. I did, however, perform a song in a school talent show to critical acclaim. That was in the 4th grade.
ReplyDeleteFirst - doing a month long challenge is a great way to get started on this type of thing! I've done challenges where you write every day for a month, or create a certain kind of art, or art in general.
ReplyDeleteFree verse is my favorite kind of poetry! I don't like being confined by rules and anything other than free verse tends to shut my brain down.
What a neat series!
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog and think this must be the best way to keep yourself writing, and producing, even if "the well runs dry" at times.
Keep it up!
Meri
Matt...I did 11 plays in 8th through 12th grade and it was a BLAST! I never would have had the guts to sing solo in a talent show though. Good for you.
ReplyDeleteRose...Awesome, I might just have to plan a month of something special. I think it will be so much fun!!!
That's one f the reasons why I love free verse too! It's allows me to just play instead of sticking to a form. I do like formed poetry as well, but only when I'm in the mood. lol.
I'm constantly finding myself to be envious of you. :)
ReplyDeleteOn the topic of the talent show, my mother demanded I do the next one, but I refused. One was enough.
ReplyDeleteMeri...Sorry, I missed your comment at first. You must have been commenting when I was replying to the previous comments.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thank you, and yes, it is a great way to keep me writing every day. And even though I'm not working really working on my novels, I still have that creative outlet that I crave all the time. :)
Matt...Yeah, I don't like it when people try to force me into doing just about anything. I like to make my own decisions. I'm glad you stuck to your guns.
Jacqui...Welcome to WYE? and please join in the conversations if you get a chance.
ReplyDeleteThe desperation of loneliness and the senselessness of separation I felt quite powerfully conveyed through the first poem. Where was it published?
ReplyDeleteI really like the second one as well; it definitely gives the feeling and rhythm of a whirling Viennese Waltz. It would make some awesome lyrics too.
Patrick...Thank you. It was published in a compilation book that WEbook.com put together. Anyone who wanted to try and get into the book at to put 3 poems forward and go through a voting process by their peers on the website. Then, the poems in the top 10% with the most votes then went through another voting process. This time by the editors. 2 of my poems were chosen. Their my first paying job! Of course, I haven't made any money on them, but that's not what it was about.
ReplyDeleteI never thought of the second poem as lyrics, but I agree with the movement of it, like a dance. That's what I was going for :)